Middle East & North Africa

SINGAPORE, Mac 25 (NNN-XINHUA) – Former Singapore transport minister, S. Iswaran, was charged in the State Courts with eight additional counts of obtaining valuable things, as a public servant, according to a statement issued by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), today.

Iswaran received valuables with a total value of nearly 19,000 Singapore dollars (14,000 U.S. dollars) from businessman, Lum Kok Seng, between Nov, 2021 and Nov, 2022, the CPIB noted.

ALGIERS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Algerian Red Crescent on Sunday began the loading of 150 tonnes of humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip which teeters on the brink of a mass famine.

The aid, carried by eight military aircraft, will depart from Boufarik Military Airport, some 30 km southwest of the capital Algiers, the Red Crescent said in a statement.

The aid is expected to arrive at the Al Arish airport in Egypt before being transported to Rafah in southern Gaza.

CAIRO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, reiterating his call for an immediate ceasefire in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"Now more than ever, it's time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It is time to silence the guns," the UN chief told a press conference at the border crossing.

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) The Congress on Saturday released its fourth list of 45 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, fielding its Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai from Varanasi to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While the Congress fielded its veteran leader Digvijaya Singh from Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh, it nominated newly-inducted leader Lal Singh from Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur to take on Union minister Jitendra Singh.

Vikas Thakare will take on Union minister Nitin Gadkari in Nagpur, according to the list.

22 March 2024; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces will eventually invade the Palestinian city of Rafah in southern Gaza and defeat Hamas, “even if the whole world is against Israel, including the United States”, Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, has said.

22 March 2024; MEMO: The Houthis have carried out at least 50 attacks on ships off the coast of Yemen since November, a Pentagon official said yesterday.

“In the Red Sea, Ansar Allah [Houthis] are seeking to disrupt this vital route for global trade, carrying out at least 50 attacks” on ships since they began targeting ship in the region, Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander, said during a congressional hearing.

The Israeli army has caused the death of 13 patients in Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital’s intensive care unit by depriving them of medicine, oxygen and food, the Government Media Office said yesterday, Anadolu reported.

In a statement, the media office said: “The Israeli army premeditatedly killed 13 patients by denying them medicine, saline, electricity and oxygen since it occupied the hospital for the fourth consecutive day.”

23 March 2024; MEMO: The Israeli army and Shin Bet published misleading reports about the military operation at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, which has been ongoing since late last Sunday night, as well as the martyrdom of dozens of Palestinians there, claiming that “very senior” leaders of Al-Qassam Brigades had been arrested.